


What Are We?

by yonah_1027



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bear Rights, Friends With Benefits, M/M, everyone is dumb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2020-10-10 06:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20523107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yonah_1027/pseuds/yonah_1027
Summary: Kiba is tired of the way things are between he and Kankuro and it's finally time to do something about it.





	1. Ch 1: Le début de la fin

_*Kankuro 5:03 pm: I’ll be in town this weekend*_

Kiba’s eyes widened as he read the message on his phone. It wasn’t anything surprising to see something like this from Kankuro; all of his texts had the same succinctness to them. What caught Kiba off guard was the arrival of the message during the middle of a conversation he was having with Hinata about why he shouldn’t be texting Kankuro in the first place. He hoped she hadn’t noticed his not so subtle reaction but knew by the look on her face that she most definitely had.  
“That was him, wasn’t it? What’d he say?”  
Kiba wished he could lie to Hinata. He wanted so badly to say the text was nothing important, throwing off the conversation and her judging eyes. But there was no way he would lie to his best friend. He’d already put her through enough forcing her to listen to his complaints for the past month.  
“He says he’ll be in town. That’s all.”  
“You and I both know what that means, Kiba. After all I’ve said to you, I better not find out you met up with him!”  
“I promise that I won’t-” he paused, realizing he couldn’t quite promise that just yet. “I won’t let it happen again after this next time.”  
The look of disappointment on Hinata’s face made him regret saying anything at all. However, he had to tell her the truth. She was the only one that knew the full extent of his relationship with Kankuro, making her the only one Kiba could come to for advice.  
Over the past few months, Kiba and Kankuro’s relationship had morphed from friendship into something more...complicated. After a couple of drinks, Kiba may have let slip that he found Kankuro physically attractive, something he’d been holding onto since they’d first became acquainted. It was a surprise to them both that the feeling was mutual. From that point began their more than friendly meetings, sporadic at first but soon becoming a regular occurrence. But Kiba knew the first morning they’d woken up next to each other that things between them had changed.  
The problem came from Kankuro’s refusal to acknowledge the shift in their dynamic. Though he hated to admit it, Kiba was left confused and heartbroken every time he watched Kankuro leave. It seemed as if when he left the bed to dress himself that the Kankuro that cared for him so much had completely ceased to exist. The man that held him close at night and made him feel at ease was only a figment of Kiba’s imagination. He played along, maintaining the image that they were nothing more than close friends from the outside looking in. However, no matter how much disappointment Kiba felt, he could never refuse the opportunity to let it happen one hundred times over.  
The truth was Kiba was in love, so much so that he continued to put himself through this torture. His mother had always warned him that Inuzukas gave their all when they fell in love. He never truly understood what that meant until he found himself in this situation, in love with his best friend who wanted little more than the physical aspect of a relationship. There was no way he could risk what very little between them he already had.  
Telling Hinata of his woes was the only way to ease his pain. She managed to guilt him into talking to Kankuro about things were like for the both of them, something they’d entirely failed to do. He knew the only solution was to end whatever it was they had, whether that meant starting an official relationship or ceasing to see each other altogether.


	2. Ch 2: Le rendezvous finale?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope we like dialogue

Kiba awoke the next morning feeling extremely anxious. He was up far too early, unusual for him seeing as he woke up well before his friends on a regular basis to take Akamaru out. Most likely his uneasiness was due to his nerves pumping adrenaline throughout his body as he mentally prepared for a conversation he was not ready to have. He turned to Kankuro sleeping beside him, snoring heavily.  
Of the thoughts that should have been running through his head at the moment, snoring should not have been one of them. Kiba found himself pondering whether Kankuro’s snoring was something he could tolerate hearing every morning. Maybe he could get Kankuro to wear those snore strips. He was well into what wall to place the bed next to when they moved in together when a voice interrupted his thoughts.  
“Stop staring at me.”  
Kiba was supposed to be saying something now, wasn’t he?  
“Why are you awake, Kankuro? It’s super early.”  
“I’m a light sleeper. I woke up when you did. Now go back to sleep so I can too.”  
It took a lot in Kiba to resist the urge to comply with his lover’s request. Let himself forget everything except for how easy it would be to feel those arms wrap around him. He wanted so badly to drift off back to his dreams where there were no problems. But he’d done that far too many times before. Enough prolonging the inevitable.  
“No.”  
“Well, try not to move so much for like the next couple hours.”  
Suddenly, Kiba felt extremely uncomfortable. Maybe this was one of those signs Hinata was always talking about. A sign of what he didn’t know. Hopefully it was something positive. Despite whatever desires he had, he bolted straight up in bed, shrugging away from Kankuro’s touch in the process.  
“Ok dude, literally what did I just say?”  
Kiba couldn’t tell if his goosebumps were there out of fear or the sudden loss over blanket around his arms.  
“What are we?”  
“Well, I’m just the bitch who makes the biscuits. Now lay back down.”  
“Kankuro, I’m serious. What is this that we’re doing? Are we like, a thing? Or are we just fucking?”  
There was a beat of silence between the two of them. Could this be another sign? Kiba was starting to think maybe he wasn’t a fan of ‘signs’ anymore.  
“Does it matter, especially if we’re both ok with it?”  
“Yes, it matters! To me at least. And... I’m not ok with it. I don’t think I’ve ever been.”  
He had no intentions of saying that. He also had no intentions of getting so emotional. But controlling the things that came out of his mouth was never one of Kiba’s strong suits. Neither was controlling his emotions. He just felt however he was feeling, no filter to be found.  
Kankuro sat up next to him. The tiredness of his eyes seemed to be gone. Instead, his eyes seemed full of thought.  
“Well, why didn’t you say something?”  
“Because I like you. I thought maybe if I said something you'd get mad or upset and then things would be weird between us. And what if after this you never talk to me again?”  
“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t talk to you?”  
"Wait. Wait! Are you serious?"  
"Duh, dog breath. I don't just say things at random. I'm not great at relationships but I'll try for you."  
Kiba was sure when he told this story to Hinata he’d leave out the part where he started tearing up. And maybe he’d leave out all of the things that happened afterward too. Best friends didn’t have to know everything about each other, did they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :}}}}}


	3. Ch 3: Les amis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome shino

Though he would’ve loved to spend the rest of the day with his brand new boyfriend, Kankuro did have other plans. This left Kiba to carry on with the rest of his day like he would on any other occasion, or at least try to now that he was officially in a relationship. Fortunately, his friends would be over soon enough for him to talk their ears off.  
Hinata arrived at Kiba’s place not too long after Kankuro’s departure, their other friend Shino in tow. Though he fully expected them, he was still terribly alarmed when the two came striding into his room.  
Maybe he should have gotten dressed. It was times like these when he regret giving them each a key.  
“Kiba, oh my god, please get dressed!”  
The intense blush on Hinata’s face and the frantic way she’d covered her eyes was admittedly completely justified for once. Shino was much harder to read behind his sunglasses, but Kiba knew he was feeling equal amounts of discomfort.  
He quickly reached for the pile of clothes at his bedside for the articles necessary to make him decent. Shirt and pants would most likely suffice. Not until after he’d put on the shirt did he realize it was a size or two larger than he normally wore. Had Kankuro left his shirt for him on purpose? Maybe he hadn’t noticed on his way out. Hopefully, his friends hadn’t noticed him smelling it.  
“We let Akamaru out when we came in. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you were just about to do so yourself and didn’t completely forget about him.”  
“Oh geez, thanks guys. And Shino, did he look mad at me? I told him it wouldn’t happen anymore but I had other things on my mind today.”  
Shino’s silence accompanied by his stern stare was an answer in itself. Kiba hoped Akamaru wasn’t too upset.  
Though he was hoping she wouldn’t, Hinata was the first to bring up the elephant in the room.  
“So, did you talk with Kankuro? It doesn’t look like you did much talking.”  
In an instant, a smile spread across Kiba’s face. There wasn’t much time to think as the words spilled out of his mouth in excitement.  
“Short answer: yes. Long answer: I told him I want something serious and an actual relationship and I really thought he was gonna be angry or something but he wasn’t he said he’s not that good at relationships but he’d try for me and now he’s officially my boyfriend and guys I’ve got a fucking mans now can you believe it!”  
Hinata let out a squeal and rushed to give Kiba a hug, repeating over and over how happy she was for him and how proud of him she was. Though her excitement was plentiful, Shino’s reaction was just as important to him. The two had always been like brothers and Kiba sought Shino’s approval just as he would his mom.  
He definitely didn’t like how Shino looked more concerned than pleased.  
“Hey, Shino, say something, please.”  
“I’m happy for you. Just, I think should be careful. Do you even know it was just you he was seeing? And what does not good at relationships mean exactly? “  
“Well, I never asked him any of that. But... I trust him. I don’t think you should be too worried about it.”  
Before Shino had the chance to say anything else, the three were alerted to Akamaru’s presence in the doorway. The dog had decided he’d been ignored for long enough that morning and demanded some attention from his owner. Kiba was never one to deny his pet of affection and was eager to drop the current conversation. No matter how much he wanted to brush them off, Shino’s words were tucked in the back of his mind, fighting with the gut feelings he’d been raised to trust.  
Shino had always been overprotective of him. He had no need to worry.  
Did he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> teehee :}  
also grammerly said my delivery was weak so lol


	4. Ch 4: Ayez patience

Kankuro saying he wasn’t good at relationships was very much an understatement. Kiba had hoped something between them would change for the better, but mostly everything had remained the same.   
Well, not everything had stayed the same.   
Kiba would admit he was no expert at dating. His first and only somewhat serious relationship was with Hinata, at a time where he realized he wasn’t a girl and she realized she wasn’t a boy and that neither of them was all that straight. But he definitely knew a relationship involved communicating, something Kankuro wasn’t all too good at.   
In the week since they’d become official Kankuro managed to send him four texts, two of which were pictures of his pet axolotl named Bong Water. Kiba didn’t even know he had a pet so at least it was something new.   
However, one thing was for sure: Kankuro seemed to be trying. It hurt him to say it but he finally had to take his mother’s advice and be patient for once.   
But patience had never been a skill of his.   
Kankuro’s visits were usually monthly. From the bits and pieces he could remember from past conversations, Kiba knew Kankuro and his siblings did stuff and worked on things. Business and whatnot. Boring. That meant he’d be waiting for another three weeks.   
Another three weeks of being lonely. Another three weeks of waiting for by his phone for texts. Another three weeks looking at pictures of Bong Water and trying to figure out how to pronounce axolotl.   
He was already very tired of being patient. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry sorry sorry sorry SOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRY  
maybe i was a lil depressed or sum but quarantine helps with that  
this is short but next one will be longer


	5. Ch 5: Vieilles habitudes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do not be like these two. practice social distancing

As expected, Kankuro arrived back in Konoha almost exactly three weeks later. If Kiba had counted correctly it’d been 29 days since they’d last seen each other. He’d counted a lot of other things as well, like the 23 times Hinata asked how things were going, the 9 texts he’d received, and the one phone call they’d had that lasted 5 minutes and 4 seconds.   
The sparse amount of communication wasn’t what Kiba had in mind for the time they’d spend apart, but it left him excited for all the ways the two would find to catch up.   
Kiba spent his Thursday evening awaiting the penultimate tenth message informing him Kankuro was outside his apartment waiting to be let in. It was well past sunset when he’d finally arrived.   
Despite always having something to say, Kiba found himself at a lack for words upon opening the door.   
“Hey.”  
“Hey.”  
Hinata had been adamant that now that they were officially in a relationship that there should be less focus on the physical and more on actually getting to know each other. Kiba had assured her many times that he was in agreement. But it turns out old habits die hard.   
It wasn’t long before Kiba felt a pair of hands on his hips as the older man pulled him closer. He found himself going into autopilot, his arms falling into place around Kankuro’s neck. Kankuro smelled like he always did, a heady, woody smell Kiba had come to associate with strong feelings of longing and desire. Remembering those feelings are what brought him out of his trance.   
“Kankuro?”  
There was a muffled hum of response from the face pushed into the crook of his neck.   
“Wanna watch a movie or something? “   
He wasn’t sure why he’d said that. It was probably the most boring option he could’ve come up with. It was seemingly very difficult to think straight with the other man pressed against him.   
“What’s wrong with what we usually do?”  
“Nothing. But relationships are more than just sex you ass.”  
Kankuro pulled back and let out a chuckle. Kiba decided it was a sign he’d won this battle. 

* * *

  
Kiba woke the next morning with the sun in his eyes and a loud snore coming from the weight beside him. He didn’t recall falling asleep; he must’ve drifted off during the movie. He’d slept amazingly well, but then again he always felt more refreshed waking up next to Kankuro. And for once he didn’t have to dread the moment Kankuro left. The other man was his for the weekend and he intended to spend every moment they could together.   
He made his way out of bed, trying to make as little movement as possible for Kankuro’s sake. Judging by the late morning sun coming through the window, he’d awoken just in time to tend to Akamaru before he came pawing at his bedside. He also really had to pee.   
After taking care of Akamaru, Kiba led his dog into his room, eager to cuddle up with him and Kankuro for at least the next hour.   
“Keebs, can you close the blinds? It’s too bright in here.”  
“Good morning to you, too. I guess I can close them for you Dracula.”  
Kankuro reached out to pull Kiba into bed next to him. He was very much looking forward to more mornings like this.   
“I think somewhere was here earlier, about an hour ago. Your mom or sister maybe? Kinda weird they just came in and left without saying anything.”  
Kiba sat listening as he pet Akamaru. He remembered asking Shino to return the jacket he'd left in his car the next chance he could. Of course, his friend would slip into his apartment at far too early in the morning. Still, he’d have to remember to thank him later.   
“Probably Shino, dropping something off for me. No problem.”  
“Uh ok? What, does he have a key or something?”  
“Yeah. Hinata too.”  
Akamaru barked at the mention of Hinata, as if to solidify Kiba’s statement. If dogs could glare, Akamaru was definitely doing so in Kankuro’s direction.   
“Hm. Ok.”  
Before anything else could be said, Kankuro was up and on his way to the bathroom. Kiba couldn’t shake the feeling he’d said something wrong. Akamaru, however, seemed pretty content.   
So much for ending the morning peacefully. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh stinky
> 
> theres a uhhhhhh kankiba discord btw if anyone is interested that i made and share art in...
> 
> tumblr: twunkkiba

**Author's Note:**

> The chapter titles are in french because i took 4 years of it in highschool and because i felt like it :/  
Leave comments they encourage me to finish this 
> 
> tumblr: twunkkiba


End file.
